


(Come Darkness, Come Light) Be My Anchor In the Night

by kdanna03



Series: Silence and Darkness [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Dark Emma, Dark Swan, F/M, Romance, The Jolly Roger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-14 14:31:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4568040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kdanna03/pseuds/kdanna03
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dark Emma finds herself drawn to the Jolly Roger, and its pirate, each night by a troublesome pull in her chest. She struggles to understand what it all means.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(Come Darkness, Come Light) Be My Anchor In the Night

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve decided to use "An Icy Heart, A Fiery Start" to begin a series of Dark Emma drabbles entitled Silence and Darkness. This story is the second installment. 
> 
> An enormous thank you to Haleigh without whom I’d never be able to publish anything. Not only is she an amazing beta, but her endless font of writing wisdom gets me through many a tough moment. Plus without her, I would’ve gone with my first inclination to forgo a title and instead write: “THIS IS A STORY. READ IT.” An additional thank you to my IRL BFF who puts up with my endless badgering.

Emma stands at the edge of the dock, as has recently become her habit, the night air cool against her glistening skin. The Jolly Roger looms silently before her, waves knocking gently against its sides. In the distance a bell rings. She has all the power in the universe, and yet Emma can’t figure out what compels her each evening to stand outside the massive ship. 

Before Emma had always been a morning person, eager to escape the memories of years of hurt and betrayal that evening held. Now, she craves the comfort of night. The sweet, velvety darkness that surrounds her like a blanket. Enclosing her and protecting her. When twilight beckons, she can immerse herself in the silence of shadows where she is finally free.

Her mind wanders to the day’s events, to the havoc that she had wrought on the quaint little town of Storybrooke. Despite her parents’ entreaties, with a quick flick of her wrist she had sent two bolts of her icy cold magic shooting forth that had quickly transformed Mr. Gold’s shop into a pile of rubble. Emma’s mouth turned ever so slightly upwards into a chilly semblance of a smile as she relished the memory of the destruction she had rendered. 

As usual, Emma’s gaze is fixed on one particular section of the ship. A golden light glows from one of the cabins below deck, its brightness the only thing to pierce the inky blackness that surrounds her. Emma grasps the railing before her, her finger almost catching on a sliver of wood poking out. She leans forward, basking in the light and allowing her eyes to slowly close. For a brief instant, she swears she feels a slight warmth penetrate the frostiness that has enveloped her body. But that’s impossible.

When she opens her eyes, she notices a shadow pass by the window. The pirate. Staring silently at the large vessel before her, a strange sensation−vaguely familiar−begins to creep in at the edges of her mind. She concentrates for a moment, trying to draw it to her, like grasping for a loose thread.

Suddenly, the light goes out. Emma’s world is once again hurtled into endless darkness and that tiny fragment of something vanishes as quickly as it came. Emma straightens her shoulders. No matter, she thinks. She has work to do. Besides, she will be back tomorrow, to stand wordlessly before that illuminated window. Watching it. Waiting. Maybe one day she will understand why.


End file.
